Safeguard Financial LLC Trims Stake in The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)

Safeguard Financial LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,138 shares of the company’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Safeguard Financial LLC’s holdings in Procter & Gamble were worth $1,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the third quarter worth $33,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Procter & Gamble in the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in shares of Procter & Gamble by 2,142.9% in the third quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 65.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Procter & Gamble Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Procter & Gamble stock opened at $159.82 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $169.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The Procter & Gamble Company has a 52-week low of $146.28 and a 52-week high of $180.43. The company has a market cap of $376.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.45.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 18th. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $21.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.99 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.07% and a return on equity of 33.25%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $1.0065 dividend. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PG. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Procter & Gamble from $190.00 to $176.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $174.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Procter & Gamble in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Procter & Gamble from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Procter & Gamble news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 12,800 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $2,210,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,804.35. The trade was a 52.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary A. Coombe sold 47,847 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.84, for a total transaction of $8,604,804.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,189,463.68. The trade was a 54.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,439 shares of company stock worth $13,317,460 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Procter & Gamble Company Profile

Procter & Gamble Co engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods. It operates through the following segments: Beauty, Grooming, Health Care, Fabric and Home Care, and Baby, Feminine and Family Care. The Beauty segment offers hair, skin, and personal care. The Grooming segment consists of shave care like female and male blades and razors, pre and post shave products, and appliances.